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Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs stands on the court for the national anthem before their game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on April 01, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
Victor Wembanyama has been the most physically dominated player in these playoffs, and after Game 4, his own coach had finally had enough of watching it happen without any protection from the officials.
In a post-game press conference following the Spurs’ 114-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio head coach Mitch Johnson unloaded on the officiating crew and the league in a way that left very little room for misinterpretation.
Early in the second quarter, Wembanyama went up for a rebound and then caught Naz Reid with an elbow to the jaw. Referee Zach Zarba upgraded the contact to a Flagrant 2 after video review, and Wembanyama was automatically tossed. It was the first ejection of his career, and it came at the worst possible time, with San Antonio protecting a 2-1 series lead.
Johnson made clear after the game that this moment did not happen in a vacuum. His frustration was not about the ejection itself. It was about everything that led to it.
“It’s really disappointing,” Johnson said. “At some level it’s starting to get actually disgusting just in terms of when he tries to fight through things and be professional and mature and deal with some of that stuff. I’m glad he took matters into his own hands.”
Mitch Johnson says he doesn’t think there was intent by Wemby and he’s glad Naz is ok, but called out the refs
“I’m glad he took it into his own hands, not in terms of hitting Naz, I want to be real clear about that, but he’s gonna have to protect himself if they’re not.”
He was also quick to make a distinction about what he actually meant by that.
“Again, not in terms of hitting Naz Reid, but I want to be very clear about that. I’m glad Naz Reid was okay, and I didn’t want him to help him, but he’s going to have to protect himself if they’re not. And I think it’s disgusting.”
Johnson did not hold back when pushed further on whether the refs need to do more.
“I just think that the amount of physicality that people play with him, at some level you have to protect yourself. Every single play on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose their physicality on him. I get it. We get it. That’s part of the game. But at some stage he’s gotten chucked, he’s gotten pushed down in transition, running freely, all this stuff. He doesn’t complain one time. We don’t complain because we’re just going to play. We don’t really give a shit, excuse my language. But at some stage he should be protected, and if not, he’s going to have to protect himself. And unfortunately stuff like that happens.”
Victor Wembanyama
With the league set to review the Flagrant 2, Johnson was asked whether Wembanyama could face additional discipline for Game 5.
“No,” he said flatly. “Again, I don’t even know the legality or the rules, but there was zero intent. They did what they did because of the outcome of the play. So be it. But to have anything on top of that I think would be ridiculous.”
As for the team’s response after losing their best player, Johnson had nothing but praise.
“Phenomenal. Had a chance to win, things we could have been better at. Didn’t close it out the way we wanted to, but I thought the reaction obviously was phenomenal. I mean, we were leading there until the end, and they made some shots. We didn’t finish the possession with some rebounds. Got some tough whistles, but Minnesota made some plays and they finished the game. But I thought the guys reacted in a phenomenal way.”
Anthony Edwards went off for 36 points, 16 of those in the fourth quarter, to tie the series at 2-2. Game 5 is back in San Antonio, and Wembanyama is expected to be available, but the conversation Johnson started about how officials handle him is not going away anytime soon.
Jayesh Pagar Jayesh Pagar is a writer at Heavy Sports, covering the New York Knicks and other NBA teams. He brings four years of experience across digital sports media, including NBA, WNBA, college basketball, and college football. He covered as the Knicks beat writer for ONSI and has written for PFSN, Sporting News, and ClutchPoints. More about Jayesh Pagar
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